


i don’t need coffee when you make my heart race

by adoremark



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: College AU if you squint, Fluff, M/M, barista renjun, hyuckmin are besties, platonic markhyuck, someone help jaemin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 05:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16423187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adoremark/pseuds/adoremark
Summary: Jaemin just wants to drink his coffee in peace. Everyone keeps making fun of him, his best friend, his classmates, even the cute barista at Starbucks.





	i don’t need coffee when you make my heart race

 

“What does battery acid taste like?”

Jaemin rolls his eyes at Donghyuck and continues to sip his drink. He knew asking Donghyuck to come with him to Starbucks wasn’t the greatest idea. Donghyuck didn’t even like coffee, but he wanted to see their friend, Mark.

“Will you let me live?” Jaemin whines, “It’s not even that bad.”

“Sometimes I can still hear Lucas in the ER.”

“He brought it on himself! I never told him to try it.”’ 

“And what about it?”

“I’m going to get some more and you can’t stop me,” Jaemin huffs.

Jaemin walks over to the counter and waves at Mark, who is currently occupied with making a drink. Mark nods at Jaemin before calling over one of his co-workers to take care of Jaemin’s order. The boy wears thin, circular glasses and a tuft of hair sticks out at the side. Jaemin bites back a smile at this. He squints at the boy’s name tag. _Renjun._

 _His name sounds so regal_ , Jaemin thinks. _Like a prince._

Renjun clears his throat. “Do you need a moment to think about your order?”

“Oh, sorry about that! Um, I’d like a venti iced americano with four extra shots of espresso, no water, just ice.”

Renjun looks at him for a moment before shrugging. “One venti cup of tar!”

Mark turns around, “What? Oh, it’s Jaemin’s order, got it.”

Great, another person who won’t let him drink his coffee in peace. And he thought the boy was pretty cute too, how tragic.

“Your total is six fifteen.”

Jaemin gives him seven dollars, tells him no receipt, and walks to the end of the counter before he could give him his change. Maybe he’s being sensitive, but he’s tired of having people constantly poke fun at his coffee drinking habits.

“Venti iced americano for Jaemin?”

Jaemin grabs his drink, avoiding gaze with Renjun. He takes a sip and sighs.

“This is really fascinating to me actually. Can you not register bitter tastes?”

Jaemin frowns. “No, I just _really_ like coffee.”

“I’m sure you do,” Renjun chuckles, “but I think that amount is a health hazard.”

_I take it back, he’s not a prince._

“Well, I’m here for a good time, not a long time.”

Jaemin pops off the lid of his drink, all while staring at Renjun, and tips the drink back. He’s in the middle of chugging when he realizes just how stupid he must look right now. Alright, he got a little defensive and kind of regrets blowing the tiniest chance he had with Renjun, but he can’t go back on his word now. Jaemin continues downing his americano until an ice cube lands in the back of his throat, and regrettably, Jaemin chokes.

“That doesn’t look like a good time,” Renjun says.

Jaemin is too busy coughing to answer. He wipes at his eyes when the coughs have subsided as Renjun watches in amusement.

“You good there?”

Jaemin weakly nods. “Yeah, uh, tell Mark I said bye.”

Donghyuck will never let me live this down, Jaemin thought.

 

***

 

“Oh my god, I never pinned you for a panicked gay!”

Donghyuck is sprawled on Jaemin’s bed, laughing after Jaemin told him what went down in the coffeeshop.

“This is so humiliating,” Jaemin groans.

“We gotta go back, I need to witness this myself.”

Jaemin puts his head in his hands. “I am _not_ going back there.”

Donghyuck snorts, “You gonna go on a coffee strike or something?”

“I’ll just drink the school’s coffee!”

Donghyuck gives Jaemin a pointed look. “Just text Mark and ask for the guy’s number already.” 

Jaemin claps his hands together, “Okay, how about I make you those waffles you wanted?”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes at Jaemin’s attempt to change the subject, but gets off the bed anyways.

 

***

 

Jaemin does end up texting Mark, but not for the reason Donghyuck told him to.

 

**jaems**

heyyy i got a question for u

 

**kkuri kkuri marklee**

yeah what’s up

 

**jaems**

u know the guy that works with u? the one who took my order

 

**kkuri kkuri marklee**

renjun?

 

**jaems**

yep that’s the one what days does he work

 

**kkuri kkuri marklee**

and you’re asking bc…?

 

**jaems**

do u need to know to answer

 

**kkuri kkuri marklee**

… everyday except for sundays to tuesdays

 

**jaems**

thank uuu

**kkuri kkuri marklee**

you’re welcome???

 

Jaemin tosses his phone to the side and breathes out a sigh. Thank god, Mark didn’t put up much of a fight.

Jaemin only goes to Starbucks on the days Renjun didn’t work, and on the other days, he would just go to a different coffeeshop. Donghyuck brings up the subject of Renjun in a couple of their conversations, but Jaemin vaguely answers with “oh, he didn’t notice me, he was busy with someone else” or “he didn’t work today”.

Jaemin is at Starbucks on a Monday when he starts to wonder if he’s being overdramatic.

“So when are you gonna stop avoiding Renjun?” Mark asks, handing Jaemin his americano.

“W-what do you mean?” Jaemin stammers.

“You asked me what days he works and come everyday except for when he works,” Mark chuckles, “I can put two and two together.”

“Didn’t Hyuck tell you what happened?” Jaemin pouts.

“Listen, if you’re embarrassed about what happened, Renjun got over it like five minutes after you left. It’s not a big deal.”

Jaemin isn’t really sure what’s exactly motivating him to avoid Renjun at all costs. He’s certainly going through a lot of trouble for it. The other coffeeshop’s coffee wasn’t even that good, it was farther away from campus, _and_ it cost more. At this point, he’s more embarrassed to go back because of how hard he took this to heart.

“Don’t overthink it, man.” Mark leans over to pat his shoulder, sending him off.

Fortunately, Jaemin literally doesn’t have time to overthink the situation due to an impending chemistry exam. He’s distressed to say the least, to the point of buying bottled espresso drinks at vending machines. He hasn’t been anywhere except for his dorm, classes, and the library.

Jaemin wakes up on Saturday just before noon. He decides to treat himself and study at Starbucks instead of the stuffy library. The exam is on Monday and he’s determined to cram in any last information. He also hasn’t had a proper cup of coffee in a while and is in desperate need of one.

It takes him 0.6 seconds after walking into Starbucks to realize his mistake.

Renjun is behind the cash register, talking to the customer in front of him. He’s not wearing the glasses today, but the side of hair is still sticking up 

_Fuck. It’s a Saturday._

He’s about to turn his heel and make an exit, but Renjun notices him in his peripheral, eyes lighting in recognition, and waves to him. Jaemin winces and waves back. _Oh god, there’s really no way out of this._

“Hey! It’s Jaemin, right?” Renjun says, greeting him with a small smile.

“Haha.. yeah, that’s me.”

Renjun’s cheerful expression falters for a millisecond when Jaemin steps up to the counter. “Woah, no offense, but you look like all the life has been sucked out of you.”

“Thanks dude,” Jaemin says in a dry tone, “chem exam has been kicking my ass all week.”

Renjun nods in understanding. “And if I could take your order?”

Jaemin scratches at the back of his head, hesitant to say his order. “Venti iced americano with four extra espresso shots, no water, just ice.”

Renjun raises an eyebrow at this.

“Please?” Jaemin tacks on, his voice rising in pitch.

“You’re not drinking this on an empty stomach, right? This is going to burn your insides. ”

Jaemin tries to hold back his laughter. He should probably feel offended, but this was kinda, just kinda, cute. Maybe he was delirious. “What, you’re worried for me?”

Renjun flushes at this, the tips of his ears glowing red. Jaemin feels a tightness in his chest he can’t explain.

“What can I do to join the ‘Save Jaemin’s Stomach Lining’ campaign?” Renjun says 

Jaemin leans on the counter. “Well, what drink would you recommend me?”

Renjun hums, pondering over the question. “Jasmine green tea is my go to, supposed to detoxify your body or something like that.”

“Then I’ll have that.”

“Coming right up,” Renjun says with a grin.

Jaemin smiles back. _What the fuck am I doing? I don’t even like tea._

Mark hands him his drink with a skeptical look. “This is tea, you know.”

“Yeah, it’s also a _Saturday_.”

“Good point.”

Jaemin chooses a seat by the window and charger outlet. He lays out all his books and papers before taking a sip from his drink. The aroma is fragrant, a subtle sweetness to it. It’s hot, something Jaemin isn’t used to, but he likes how it feels. Coffee has more of a punching taste, waking him up. This is lighter on his tongue, the taste mellow and smooth.

_Huh, this isn’t that bad._

“Seems like you’re enjoying it.”

Jaemin jumps, nearly splattering the tea all over his laptop.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you there,” Renjun says. He holds a muffin in his right hand.

“Um, is that for me?” Jaemin asks, pointing at it.

Renjun places down the muffin. “Yeah, it’s on the house. I didn’t know if you ate anything yet. I also don’t know what flavor you like, so I just got these cinnamon sugar ones because they pair well with the tea. I mean, if you don’t want it, that’s okay, I know a lot of people who don’t like cinnamon, you don’t have to take it if you—”

“It’s perfect,” Jaemin says, “thank you.”

Renjun exhales and smiles. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

Jaemin turns to his laptop when Renjun walks away and types the only thing on his mind with shaky hands.

 

_What the fuckskjdkfjsidjfaiodhfoo_

 

He takes the muffin and notices something scrawled onto the napkin wrapped around it.

 

 _Sorry for making fun of you last time! Give me an extra shot? xxx-xxx-xxxx_  
_(Good luck on your chem exam!!)_  
_\- Renjun :)_

 

Jaemin goes back to his laptop.

_WHATTHEUVFJCKSJCDKJSLD_

 

There’s no way he can study in this state. He finishes his muffin, sneaking glances at Renjun all the while. Renjun catches him a few times, but Jaemin doesn’t look away, amused at the tips of Renjun’s ears reddening.

“Hey! No flirting during work, I thought you were better than this Renjun,” Mark says.

Jaemin holds back his laughter when Renjun’s ears turn a darker red. He leaves Starbucks practically skipping. Now he has even more the reason to come.

 

***

 

**cute choco ball**

WHY didn’t you tell me that you and Renjun are a thing??  
i had to find out through mark!!! MARK

**cute choco ball**

you drank tea??? na jaemin drinking tea??? in this economy??????

 

**cute choco ball**

so you’re WHIPPED whipped huh

 

**jaems**

ERROR: You have been blocked by this number.

 

**cute choco ball**

NA JAEMIN

 

**Author's Note:**

> jaemin's contact names in this are real!! he's so affectionate with everyone, it's so sweet. 
> 
> a big thank you to my best friend, sage, for helping me out!! check out her works [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyuckshines)
> 
> i'm also on [twitter](https://twitter.com/markbffs) :))
> 
> hope you enjoyed reading this!


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